August 14, 2014

Indian with malaria sent away from Liberian hospital, dies

In Liberia, if Ebola does not kill you, malaria will. For that matter, any curable disease will. Reason: the healthcare system in Liberia is so overwhelmed with Ebola cases that patients with other diseases are bearing the brunt.

An example is the death of Augustine Aiyadurai, administrator of a Vellore hospital. He was in Liberia's Zorzor district since November last year. He died of malaria on August 2 due to non-availability of advanced medical care.

Augustine's mother hails from Udupi. A relative of his told TOI: "Augustine (fondly called Prabha) passed away in the ICU of the Curren Hospital in Zorzor. He had made a real difference by putting into place efficient hospital systems, thereby saving more lives than meagre medical resources could."

A friend of Aiyadurai posted on Facebook: "Prabha developed fever last week and the peripheral blood smear showed malaria. The doctor in Zorzor had started him on Artemisinin and ceftriaxone. He was then sent to Monrovia, capital of Liberia, an arduous eight-hour road journey, to get better diagnostics and treatment. Unfortunately, almost all the hospitals in Liberia are closed because of the Ebola epidemic, which is killing people like flies. The hospitals which are open are taking Ebola patients.

"Prabha was turned away. He did, however, had some tests which showed that he did not have Ebola or Lassa fever. Prabha took the only recourse open to him: to go back to Zorzor, where he would get at least some treatment.

"When he got back to Zorzor, he was much worse... He was confused and not eating. He was hydrated and looked after very well by Dr Roberts. However, after making some initial progress, he started deteriorating by the afternoon of August 2 and passed away by evening."

Surathkal resident Wilfred D'Souza, who left Liberia two weeks ago, had apprehended a situation similar to Aiyadurai's. Two of his associates were down with malaria and typhoid. He had told TOI that almost all hospitals in Liberia were closed because of the Ebola epidemic; those that were open took only Ebola patients and quarantined them. The situation is much the same today.

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In Liberia, if Ebola does not kill you, malaria will. For that matter, any curable disease will. Reason: the healthcare system in Liberia is so overwhelmed with Ebola cases that patients with other diseases are bearing the brunt.

An example is the death of Augustine Aiyadurai, administrator of a Vellore hospital. He was in Liberia's Zorzor district since November last year. He died of malaria on August 2 due to non-availability of advanced medical care.

Augustine's mother hails from Udupi. A relative of his told TOI: "Augustine (fondly called Prabha) passed away in the ICU of the Curren Hospital in Zorzor. He had made a real difference by putting into place efficient hospital systems, thereby saving more lives than meagre medical resources could."

A friend of Aiyadurai posted on Facebook: "Prabha developed fever last week and the peripheral blood smear showed malaria. The doctor in Zorzor had started him on Artemisinin and ceftriaxone. He was then sent to Monrovia, capital of Liberia, an arduous eight-hour road journey, to get better diagnostics and treatment. Unfortunately, almost all the hospitals in Liberia are closed because of the Ebola epidemic, which is killing people like flies. The hospitals which are open are taking Ebola patients.

"Prabha was turned away. He did, however, had some tests which showed that he did not have Ebola or Lassa fever. Prabha took the only recourse open to him: to go back to Zorzor, where he would get at least some treatment.

"When he got back to Zorzor, he was much worse... He was confused and not eating. He was hydrated and looked after very well by Dr Roberts. However, after making some initial progress, he started deteriorating by the afternoon of August 2 and passed away by evening."

Surathkal resident Wilfred D'Souza, who left Liberia two weeks ago, had apprehended a situation similar to Aiyadurai's. Two of his associates were down with malaria and typhoid. He had told TOI that almost all hospitals in Liberia were closed because of the Ebola epidemic; those that were open took only Ebola patients and quarantined them. The situation is much the same today.